Tigers targeting corner outfielders, hoping to improve on weakness from 2012 season

Detroit Tigers' Avisail Garcia can't get a double hit by San Francisco Giants' Angel Pagan during the seventh inning of Game 1 of baseball's World Series Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

DETROIT -- Something missing. One piece short of completing the puzzle.

The Detroit Tigers finally lived up to their immense early expectations by making a late push to win the American League Central and making the playoffs. Then they went on a magical postseason run all the way to the World Series.

But all of that was just window dressing on what was clearly a flawed team all along, glaring deficiencies in the mixture that contributed to a four-game sweep at the hands of the San Francsico Giants.

Hard to believe that a lineup that had a Triple Crown winner and two Silver Sluggers in the middle of it could look so inept, getting shut out in back to back games in the World Series.

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It made the offseason shopping list pretty easy for team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski to fill out.

While Austin Jackson had a breakout year in center field, the revolving door of players who flanked him was marked as notable only by their inability to produce at any sort of useful level.

Of the players who started any significant number of games in either right or left field, only Andy Dirks (2.0) posted a Wins Above Replacement score that would border on what you'd expect from an everyday player. And Dirks only played 82 games because of injury.

As a whole, Tigers left fielders hit .275 with 14 homers and 67 RBI. Right fielders were even worse, hitting an anemic .235 with an on-base percentage of .285, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of .641. They combined for 13 homers and 66 RBI.

Put it this way: Every outfielder for the Tigers in 2012 combined for 43 home runs. Miguel Cabrera hit 44 himself.

That leaves a huge question mark for the Tigers going forward, a question that needs an answer, if they're to live up to the already-growing expectations for 2013.

"I will say that I already talked about that with a couple of my coaches. Not as much the lineup next year, but more importantly what we need to get over the hump, because we're not a perfect team. We won't ever be a perfect team, but I think we can get better. I tell you guys all the time, and I mean this, it's tricky how you put your team together. There's always a fine line between enough stars and one too many," manager Jim Leyland said. "So I think we need that right piece, that certain type of piece here or there, just one or two maybe, that would possibly make the difference, because we're in very good shape. When you've got Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, guys like that, you're in pretty good shape. Our nucleus is fine. But sometimes you need to tweak it a little bit and get that right guy with the right heartbeat."

Well, where does that guy come from?

"I'm talking about somebody from within, somebody through a trade, somebody by way of free agency," Leyland said coyly, covering all his bases. "I think those are the three ways you help your club."

Berry was a nice story, but by the end, the flaws that had kept him bouncing around the minors until this season were obvious. He'll likely be offered a contract, too, just to keep him around as depth, if nothing else.

That leaves some combination of Dirks and perhaps some youngsters, like the right-handed hitting Garcia or Nick Castellanos, a pair of prospects who might not be ready for this level just yet.

Even Dirks hasn't completely proven himself.

"Dirks is a good player. Is he an every-day player at this point? I don't know. He might be," Dombrowski said. "I know he's a real good player. Can he combine with somebody? So I think we'll just kind of look at that."

The ideal combination would be pairing the left-handed Dirks with either Garcia or Castellanos, if they're ready. If not, the Tigers could look at a right-handed platoon outfielder to add from the outside.

And, for all that Garcia was a surprising call-up on the last day of August, and made the playoff roster, it's no given that he's on next year's squad.

"It's a tough call. I would say the way I describe Garcia is that he's improved by leaps and bounds. We think he is going to be a star. Has star potential. He's a five-tool player. I'm not sure that he's ready as a corner outfielder to give us the contributions that we need on the overall basis at this time, but I'm not sure that he's not," said Dombrowski, who will monitor Garcia's progress in winter ball, as he plays every day for Magglio Ordonez's team in Venezuela.

"He's got so many plus things. There's no question that'll he'll benefit over the experience he had over the last couple months, but we'll also need him to give us some production. And when I see that you're willing to take less production out of a younger guy as they grow, but if you have watched him take batting practice you could see the type of power that he has. Some of that will eventually have to translate to the game, and you know it will but it's just a matter of when it happens. I don't think any of us, when we have our conversations, I don't think anybody knows that, but if I had to settle for him, Castellanos, Dirks with one of the roles and you do something else somewhere else, well maybe that's something you do. I think it just depends on the options as you progress through the winter."

It was somewhat of a coin flip between Castellanos and Garcia when the Tigers made the call to Double-A Erie to grab an extra outfielder, but it was a desperation move, either way. Every other option to find a right-handed-hitting outfielder had failed, to that point. Garcia's 35 games worth of experience this season won't necessarily put him any ahead of Castellanos -- the organization's top prospect -- when it comes to next year's team, either.

"I think anytime you're a young player, any experience you get against better competition is good for you. I can't give you an answer about Garcia today. I wish I could look in crystal ball, but I can't," Leyland said.

"I think about him a lot, to be honest with you. My thought process right now has not changed from what I told you guys probably three weeks ago. I don't know whether he needs to start in Triple-A for the first half of the season, I don't know if you bring him up here and platoon him, or I don't know if you bring him up here, and throw him to the wolves. I don't really have the answer. I really don't have a good feel for that one yet."

Regardless of what the Tigers do with those youngsters, they've made it plain that they'd like to add another veteran from the outside.

Logic would dictate that it be someone they could bring in for a couple of seasons until they're sure that either Garcia and Castellanos -- or both -- are ready for full-time duty.

That would probably rule out a run at one of the top-notch free agents like former MVP Josh Hamilton, who's reportedly looking for a seven-year deal.

The Tigers, however, were apparently one of the teams enquiring about Diamondbacks star Justin Upton at the recent GM meetings. The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro reported that the Tigers were doing their due diligence, checking out the availability of the 25-year-old former No. 1 overall pick.

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported Saturday that the Tigers were one of 10 teams to contact veteran outfielder Torii Hunter. Despite a career year in 2012, at age 37, the long-time Minnesota Twin was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Angels -- who have an overabundance of young outfielders -- after the expiration of the five-year, $90 million deal he signed with LA in 2008.

A guy like Shane Victorino, who hits lefties better than right-handed pitchers, and is looking for a bounce-back year, could come cheaper than his resume would indicate. So could a guy like Melky Cabrera, the All-Star Game MVP who missed the final 50 games of the season after getting caught using performance-enhancing drugs.

Whomever the Tigers pick, they'll be looking for that one last piece to the puzzle to make them better in 2013 than they were in 2012.

"Sometimes you have a club that's really good that wins a lot of games or gets some push, you can't say, 'Well this is an area, this is an area, this is an area,' I think our club, we have a couple areas, we talked about corner outfielders. I think a couple guys can come back and have better years than what they had," Dombrowski said. "So I think that combination would be the two [reasons we'll be better]. Now I'm not sitting here saying it's going to be easy, but I'm saying we have the chance to do that."

Email Matthew B. Mowery at matt.mowery@oakpress.com and follow him on Twitter @matthewbmowery. Text keyword "Tigers" to 22700 to get updates sent to your phone. Msg & data rates may apply. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.